


8,290 kilometers

by putsch



Category: Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Hand Jobs, Heartbreak, M/M, Rough Kissing, Underage Drinking, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 12:10:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11035920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/putsch/pseuds/putsch
Summary: The distance between you, me, and our broken hearts.(SASO2017 Prompt - Kise/Akaashi, akaashi falls for the stranger who sounds just like bokuto-san. kise loves to be loved. )





	8,290 kilometers

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I know there are a bunch of 'University of California's but I'm too lazy to pick one.  
> 2\. This originated from a dwrp game I did for months, and then it got brought back up along with about 5 billion emotions. So now I'm here.  
> 3\. this isn't really edited, & i wrote a lot of it late at night, so, vague hand gestures  
> 4\. If you're crying, don't worry, me too.

"Now, it's true a scholarship to study abroad in the United States is impressive, but it will be a large change. Along with the courses only being taught in English and most of the student body from America, California is a long way from home, especially to be gone for a whole year. You should consider this offer before you send in the acceptance, talk to your parents about it to make sure you're ready."

Akaashi nods, and knows he doesn't need to think about this offer. He knows it's what he wants.

He wants to run.

 

Akaashi Keiji begins his second year of university at the University of California with his luggage in hand, staring at the open to his new double with two names pinned to the corkboard affixed to it:

Keiji Akaashi  
Ryota Kise

He didn't get a chance to learn anythng about his supposed roommate past that due to some housing issues, they would be living together despite Ryota being a year below him. He tries not to let it deter him, and hopes that he at least got assigned someone who matches up with his schedule form that he filled out with his acceptance.

Akaashi pushes the door open further and steps inside, pulling along his backpack and his one large suitcase. "Ah, hello. I'm A-- Keiji. Are you Ryota?" 

The man turns around from over his suitcase, instantly gives Akaashi a huge smile and replies to Akaashi in Japanese. "Yes! It's nice to meet you! I hope you don't mind me not using English, but I heard you were an exchange student too and speaking English all the time is _really_ exhausting, you know?" 

Instantly Akaashi is taken aback - something about his voice clutches a locked-up part of Akaashi's heart, and he isn't sure why. He shakes his head for a second to try and shake away the feeling to focus. "That's fine. I didn't know you were an exchange student, how did you know?"

"The RA told me!" Ryota says, pointing down the hall. "We were probably put in the room together because of that, isn't that great Keiji?"

Akaashi nods, trying not to look visibly uncomfortable about being referred to so casually or the tenor of Ryota's voice that he can already tell is going to drive him to the brink of something. "Yes, it is."

 

During the week of orientation, Akaashi learns the following things about Kise:

1\. Kise was fine being called Kise, and was fine calling Akaashi Akaashi. He tried to act like he wasn't to relieved about it, but it was hard to hide, and Kise had laughed and agreed that it really was weird referring to people by their first names so easily.

2\. Kise plays basketball, and Akaashi realizes they were probably placed in the same two room double not only because they come from the same country, but because both of them are committed to sports teams, giving them schedules that involves waking up just before sunrise and going to bed well after sunset. 

They often see each other in the gym, as the basketball and volleyball courts are right next to each other in the massive gymnasium. Akaashi gets caught up in it sometimes, watching the way Kise shifts from his usual, flippant self to something razor sharp, something wild and strong that squeezed at that deep part of his heart again.

That's when he'd go back to focus on his sets, making them the perfect height and arch for a new set of spikers, never noticing golden eyes watching his back.

3\. Although Akaashi was better at reading and writing in English, Kise was far better at speaking it. Every time Akaashi heard him talk it was as if he was getting better and better, copying the speech patterns of his classmates to give him the confidence to speak up more, try out slang, and not get bogged down in getting the grammar wrong.

It wasn't long before Akaashi began trying to speak to Kise in English, trying to improve himself so he could keep up and not feel so left behind with his teammates and the things happening in the dorm with the other students.

"Akaaashi," Kise would complain in Japanese, "Come on, why are you trying to talk in English again?"

"I need the practice." Akaashi would cooly reply, in English. "Since we can, we should take advantage."

Kise would groan, holding out the syllables in his name long enough to make Akaashi think of someone very different who is very, very far away. "Fine, alright, we can practice, but I don't like it!"

"That's fine." Akaashi replies, and decides he likes Kise's voice much better when he speaks English in it.

He wishes he could put his finger on why.

4\. Kise isn't here the way Akaashi is here, through another school, only temporarily. Kise is here for his full university career, thanks to a scholarship with basketball and some apparent interest from the NCAA and even the NBA in his talents. 

"That's very impressive, how did you find out they were interested in your talent?" he asks, getting his tongue used to saying longer and longer English phrases.

"We had this game a while back against some American prodigy students, and me and my friends wooped their butts! So now they want to see us play more, so I'm here!"

Akaashi can understand that, but his smile doesn't reach his eyes the way it usually does when he talks. "Was it hard? Moving away from all of them."

Kise flinches, and it seems he hit the nail on the head. "I mean, of course I do. You can't not miss friends, right? But it's not so bad, I still talk to them, or most of them." He shifts his weight again and clears his throat. "What about you huh Akaashi-senpai? Do you miss anyone from home?"

"Not particularly." he lies.

 

The weeks continue to pass like this, as the final warmth of summer gives way to fall. They see each other less, as both of them are swept up into practice before the season starts and into their different courses. Kise's taking a mixture of classes to figure out his major, going out nearly every night with classmates and girls who ask to touch his arms and spend time with him at the different places around San Francisco. Meanwhile Akaashi is already headlong into pre-law, spending more nights at the gym or in the library than with people. He doesn't mind it in the least, it keeps his head off of more complicated matters and things he'd rather not think about.

It's not always so easy.

Sometimes the reminders come from social media, scrolling through Instagram as his fingers freeze over a single picture of one Bokuto Koutarou. They're usually selfies, with him smiling ear to ear with all the brightness always carried with him like a second skin. He looks good, he thinks, his skin is still tan from constant outdoor practice he's likely been keeping up with in the fall, his eyes still bright, and Akaashi _aches._ How long has it been since he heard his voice, or even messaged him? Maybe he should, how bad could it be to just talk to him? But he knows the answer already, that he kept his tongue between his teeth for too long and Bokuto had found bigger, better things without Akaashi.

Once in a while Kise notices him staring, or comes home at just the right time to notice the cracks in his pokerface. He'll invite Akaashi out to grab food with him, or run errands, and sometimes they go on runs together.

"You don't have to do all this." Akaashi tells him once, as they wait for the elevator after one of their runs. The exhaustion makes it a little easier to say.

"Do what? Running? It's important to stay in shape, Akaashicchi."

"I meant... doing these things for me, I suppose."

There's a long pause where Kise doesn't say anything, just blinks down at Akaashi before staring back at the door.

"It's not just for you, promise." His voice is uncharacteristically quiet, and Akaashi doesn't know what to say when the elevator pings for them.

 

For as much as he wants to ask, Akaashi is never one to pry. But now that he begins looking, he sees exactly what Kise means.

There are times when Kise is talking with his teammates, or his classmates, and he looks a little distant. Or sometimes Akaashi catches him staring at his phone the same way he stares at his own, like he's waiting for a message that's never going to come. But it's most obvious when he watches Kise play basketball - for all his intensity and focus there are moments where he looks to toss the ball but doesn't look at his teammates. It's like he's looking for a ghost, someone that should be there but is hundreds of miles away.

Akaashi closes his eyes, and thinks about a high, far from the net toss he'll never do again.

He understands.

 

Midterms is when they finally crack.

Practice lets up because the coaches understand all the students are busy, but they're still required to go to at least three practices a week and keep up with dietary restrictions and daily work outs. Akaashi assumed that after years of intense testing periods he'd be ready for this, but multiple essays of five to ten pages in English are harder than they ever were in Japanese, and studying for the exams is that much more stressful for the same reason. 

Kise, for all his fluency in speaking and his classes being less reading-heavy is having the exact same problem. Every few minutes he's poking his head around Akaashi's desk and asking him about certain words, to look over his papers, and while Akaashi wants to help so he doesn't fail, he needs to focus on his own work too. 

"You should try the tutors in the library tomorrow." Akaashi says after what must be the fiftieth question about contemporary literature terminology. "They'll be able to help you better than I can."

"But A _kaa_ shicchi, you're so smart!" Kise whines, shifting their conversation back into Japanese. For once, Akaashi allows it. "Plus you get it." 

"Still, if you want to study better you should do it with someone else. You'll get a better grade that way."

Kise pulls a face like he wants to argue but doesn't know what to say besides another indignant "But _Akaaaaashicchiiiii_ " which get him anything.

 

It feels like eons, but only three hours pass from the last question to when Akaashi hears wet sniffing from the other room. He rubs his eyes and tries to ignore it, but after the fourth sniffle he finds himself on his feet and in the next room.

"Kise, can you--"

The question catches in his throat as he sees Kise with his eyes wet with barely-held back tears in oddly an oddly determined stare at his computer.

"The next flight to Japan is in two hours, do you think I could make it?"

"What."

"It's only 520 dollars too, I could afford that I think, then I could leave before I fail out of everything and it'll all be okay."

"Kise, you're not going to do badly on your exams. You'll be fine." Akaashi shakes his head in mild disbelief, wondering but already knowing what brought this on. "You'll do worse if you leave."

"But at least then I can go home! It sucks being so far away, and everything being so hard!" Kise's voice cracks, and Akaashi notices that his make-up has worn off, showing the heavy bags under his eyes and spots of red. It makes him look more real. "I should've just stayed in Japan instead of doing all this, no matter what."

"That's." _Don't say that,_ he wants to say, _That means I should've stayed back too._

"We're going out." Akaashi says instead, surprising himself and Kise, whose blinking up at him like he said something far more ludicrous. Then again, maybe it is, both of them have due dates that are coming up faster than ever.

"Huh? Out where?" Kise asks, his face starting to recover into it's normal state.

"Somewhere so we stop panicking over our exams." Akaashi grabs his jacket and Kise's, tossing it to him. "Neither of us are concentrating or getting anywhere like this."

It's unnerving how Kise is still staring at him so intently, but after a long moment his face breaks into a strange smile.

"I know just the place."

 

Kise leads them out into the chilly night air across campus, down paths Akaashi would never normally take, toward large, sleek buildings.

"These are the art studios." Kise says, the first time either of them have spoken since they left their room. "And all the art students live nearby so they have easy access. I learned from a couple of girls who come see matches a lot because one of them is dating the team captain and so she and her friends are over all the time."

"And how is this "just the place" for us?"

"Beer."

Akaashi falters at that, having to skip a step to catch back up. "It's midterm week, we can't be drinking."

"You said we needed to get the edge off right? What better way than this!" Kise gives him a nudge, "Besides, we don't have to drink a ton, just a little bit so we can sleep and start over tomorrow without looking so miserable."

"Are you talking about me or yourself?" Akaashi asks, trying not to feel too satisfied when Kise looks sheepish.

"So mean, Akaashicchi. I always look beautiful."

Akaashi chooses to say nothing to that.

They enter through a back door, taking them directly into a common room full of old, but comfortable looking furniture and a few tables. There's a girl in the common room in her pajamas, red hair pulled into a bun at the top of her head. She's reading something, but as the door closes she looks up and gives Kise a grin.

"Ryota! And oh, is this your roommate you're always talking about?"

"Keiji." Akaashi supplies.

"Keiji, I'm Lydia. It's nice to meet you. " His name sounds weird in her accent. "So, what can I do for you boys?"

"Sooo, I know it's late, but do you think I can buy a few beers off of you?"

She laughs, "Sure, sure, it's fifteen bucks and I'll be right back." and gets up, shooting them a little wave before she heads down the hall.

"This wasn't really what I had in mind, you know." Akaashi says to Kise, who just laughs as bright as ever.

"Maybe, but it's better, right?"

"...We'll see."

 

Lydia only gives them a six pack, telling them to 'get loose but don't get crazy!' before they bow and head out, making their way to a spot on the green where everything is quiet to crack open the first beer.

The beer tastes awful, fizzy down his throat and Akaashi stops to flinch, only to watch Kise keep going, his adam's apple bobbing with each sip. "You should pace yourself." he says, but Kise waves him off before he finally pulls back to breath.

"Bleh, it's easier this way to just down it. Then you don't have to taste how crappy it is."

"You say that like you do this a lot." Akaashi tries to wrack his brain of a time Kise came home drunk, and isn't sure if he finds a clear answer.

"My teammates drink a lot, so they give me stuff sometimes. I usually try not to drink a lot though." Kise shrugs. "What about you?"

"I don't go to the parties. There's no time for it." Akaashi tries to take a long drink like Kise did, but he can't manage it and ends up shivering from the taste again. "There aren't that many anyway."

"Hm, I guess, but it would help if you cut loose a little bit sometimes Akaashicchi. You'll get wrinkles young otherwise."

"I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Next time there's a party, you're coming with me." Kise says definitively over Akaashi. "So I can make sure you cut loose."

Akaashi raises his eyebrow over his beer can, and takes another sip. "Only if you promise to go see the writing tutors tomorrow."

Kise groans, but holds out his can toward Akaashi. "Deal."

 

The cold finally starts to get to them as they get into their third respective beers. Kise slips his arm underneath Akaashi's neck like a pillow, and Akaashi pushes his side up against Kise's until they're pressed together all the way down to the knee. He hasn't kept track of how long they've been here, how long they've been talking about everything and nothing, instead cataloging how the mess of Kise's blond hair looks silver in the faint moonlight and the number of eyelashes he can count without Kise's makeup to make it easier.

"I really do want to go home." Kise says, nuzzling his head into Akaashi's hair. "I miss my old teammates, and like, we talk, but it's not the same as getting to see them, and the time difference is rough."

He hums, "You make time to talk to a lot of people though." And it's true, he's seen Kise talking to someone from home that isn't his parents at least once a week.

"Yeah, but, it's different." Kise takes another long drink and sighs, and something clicks for Akaashi, remembering all the times Kise's eyes were looking for something far, far away.

"You miss someone specific." Kise freezes beside him and Akaashi knows he plucked the right string. With a groan Kise turns, shifting to his side so he can face Akaashi, and Akaashi does the same so he doesn't lose his pillow of Kise's arm. 

"It's one of my old senpais. He... he helped me out a lot when I first started in high school, because middle school was, well." He takes another drink and shakes his head. "And I liked him a lot like... liked him liked him." For the first time ever, Akaashi watches Kise honestly blush. "I didn't know how to say anything to him before he graduated, but we still talked a lot because I could go see him at college and he'd come by the high school sometimes to see the team. And it was great, but after a while I couldn't hold back so I confessed."

Akaashi thinks his own heart is in free fall through the earth, because this story is far too familiar, too real, and he knows exactly the words out of Kise's strained smile before he says them.

"But he didn't like me like that, and even though he says we can still be friends I can't bring myself to talk to him again."

Of course. Akaashi closes his eyes and rests his forehead on Kise's.

"I know."

"You know?" Kise asks, a little bit incredulous.

"Yes." he starts, taking a deep breath. "There was... an upperclassman. The ace of our volleyball team. He was good enough that we went to nationals every year he was a starter. I thought it was just because we were teammates, the setter, that we got along so well and that I was willing to go out on a limb for him. Then he graduated and I realized it was more than that, but I never brought myself to say anything. Next thing I knew he was with someone else, and I knew it would never happen."

It's equal parts freeing and embarrassing to say it, but if he was ever going to say it, it would be now. Slowly, he opens his eyes again, and finds Kise staring back at him wide-eyed and searching. Somehow, Akaashi didn't realize how close they were.

"Is that who you're always staring at when you look at your phone?"

"Probably, yes."

"Wow."

"Is your senpai who you always look for on the court?"

"You noticed?"

"So did you."

Silence falls between them again, but the cold doesn't, everything in his blood starts to get hotter and hotter with the buzz of beer humming in his ears. Something between them has undeniably shifted, like some kind of strange bond that both of them have unearthed after skirting around it since they met, and Akaashi can feel it in the scant inches that separate them. 

Kise shifts and Akaashi follows suit, crashing their lips together in some kind of a kiss, closed mouth and a little too hard before they adjust enough so they fit together, Akaashi's free hand cupping his face. 

Wait, wait, Akaashi pulls back, finding their original distance and Kise staring up at him with inquisitive golden eyes.

"Sorry, I shouldn't--" No, that's not what he means. He takes another breath. "I'm not your senpai."

"And I'm not your ace." Kise whispers, "That doesn't mean we can't do this, right?"

Akaashi searches for an argument, and finds none; so he finds Kise's mouth again instead.

 

Kise's kisses taste like nasty beer and slightly tacky spit and Akaashi thinks this is what solace must taste like, it must feel like well kept dyed hair between his fingers, like the locked door of their room pressed hard against his back as they kiss over and over with the single minded focus of starving men. Kise drags his teeth over Akaashi's lip, pushing forward with the kind of intensity Akaashi imagines he uses when he plays offense, and Akaashi maps the thick line of his back and sides underneath careful fingers to find what makes Kise melt. 

"Kise." Akaashi breathes out his name, not letting him get far with kisses over his throat. "Bed."

He groans, but complies, heavy hands grabbing at his ass as they stumble across the room to the bed, and Kise pulling Akaashi into his lap. They scramble to remove each other's jackets and shirts and pulling each other as close, pressed together like pieces of two separate puzzles that can fit together if you just push hard enough. It still works, still boils Akaashi's blood as he keeps his eyes screwed shut and takes in as much as he can to fill in every stress-related fissure of his heart. It's an easy thing to do when Kise makes himself so open, grabs and bites and kisses at Akaashi's skin like he wants exactly the same thing.

Akaashi grinds his hips down against Kise's, feeling him hard in his jeans and Akaashi shudders at the way Kise moans. His voice is perfect like that, it always is in a bittersweet way, and for once Akaashi doesn't let himself think about the whys or hows, instead wanting the timbre of it to wrap around him.

He grinds his hips down again, again, until he's fully hard too and Kise is grabbing at the buttons to rip them open.

"Stupid, stupid pants--" he grumbles, shoving his own away before Akaashi's. "Let me touch you."

"Yes, yes." Akaashi replies, distantly realizing this is his first time doing anything like this with anyone. He figured these sorts of things were supposed to be more special, more tender.

Not so distantly, he wants both of their boxers off, so they can get to this already.

It's like an electric shock when their cocks press together, Akaashi shivering and Kise letting out another moan. "Oh, _Akaashicchi,_ god." His voice sounds strangled and Akaashi reveals in it until his brain is overwritten with the sensation of Kise's strong, wide hand wrapping around both of their cocks and giving a firm stroke. It feels like he's burning from the inside out, fire stoked with every uneven stroke of Kise's hand and the friction from Kise's cock and Akaashi kisses him again, open mouthed and hard. He doesn't care if their teeth clack together a little, or the soreness in his knees from the position, he just wants more, more, to be consumed so he can stop thinking.

"More," Akaashi pleads, his hand coming down over Kise's to fill the spaces on burning skin between his fingers. "Faster, please." _Fuck me as hard as I hate myself,_ he thinks, and Kise delivers without question. He growls under his breath and strokes faster, harder, and it's perfect. Akaashi's mind goes blissfully, blissfully blank, the friction building to the peak before the drop into orgasm tearing from his bones. 

He lets out one, long moan, in the shape of a name that isn't Kise's and when Kise moans back, come spilling over both of their stomachs, Akaashi knows it's fine when he doesn't hear his name in any of those moans either.


End file.
